Darin Zanyar

Darin Zanyar (born 2 June 1987), better known simply as Darin, is a Swedish pop singer and songwriter of Kurdish descent and one of Sweden's best-selling artists, with numerous chart topping songs and music albums.

Early life

Darin was born to Kurdish parents and began singing at an early age, citing Michael Jackson as his biggest inspiration. On the DVD Tour Videos Interview, Darin is shown as a child dancing to Michael Jackson and singing "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles. He started writing and recording songs at the age of 14.

Career

2004: Idol

In spring of 2004, Darin auditioned for a place on the first series of Idol with "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time on You" by N*Sync, the four judges were very impressed and he passed through to the theatre round and then on to the semi-finals where he sang "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera and received 78% of the public vote to get through to the live finals. He eventually came in second place, losing to Daniel Lindström.

2005–2006: The Anthem, Darin and DVD